Release date is 2026-01-26

Tim Miller, Daniel Lowe, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from scanned images of public domain material from the Google Books project.)

Blunders in behaviour corrected by Observer of men and things is a concise etiquette manual written in the mid-19th century, during the Victorian era. Aimed chiefly at the rising middle class, it offers practical guidance on polite conduct in public and at home, with a clear focus on cultivating refinement, restraint, and consideration for others.

The book begins by criticizing the hollowness of purely fashionable life and arguing that good manners strengthen virtue. It then delivers brief, alphabetized counsel on topics from Affectation, Conversation, and Dress to Ball-room manners, Calls, Introductions, Invitations, Dining (at home and out), Letters, Salutations, and Punctuality. Core themes recur: avoid self-display, scandal, coarse talk, betting, and eccentricities; keep clean, temperate, and unhurried; show deference to age and women; and be thoughtful as host or guest. Concrete tips abound—do not monopolize a partner at dances; keep your hat in hand on morning calls; carve and serve neatly; wear gloves for dancing; answer invitations and letters promptly; use proper titles when naming others; leave parties quietly; and never spit or swear in company. The closing hints reinforce precedence, modest greetings, and small courtesies that sustain ease, respect, and harmony in everyday social life. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Originally published: London: Groombridge & Sons, 1855